Hi all! So I'm expecting my first two kittens in nine days, and of course I'm massively excited. I have all the provisions and am busy rat-proofing my bedroom for freerange, but I wanted to get nit-picky about diet.

I bought the No 7 standard mix from RatRations, as well as Dr Squiggles (the water soluble one), salmon oil, seaweed dust, and salmon oil. I know that kittens need additional protein every week, but I wanted to ask specifics about how much I should be feeding them. I figured a conservative handful of dry mix scattered in the cage for a start. But how much should I fill my ickle Dr Squiggles bottle for two rats? Also, since I'm planning some extensive rat gourmet meals including stuffed mushrooms and fried/hardboiled quail eggs, how much should I be giving the kittens per day? I mean, when I make stuffed mushrooms for me, I do it in portobello mushrooms, but that's basically the same size as a small adult girl all curled up. So....maybe one small mushroom for both of them? Like your average sized chestnut mushroom?

My rat-safe stuffed mushroom recipe as follows, please check it's okay:
Finely chopped onion, mushroom stem and garlic simmered in a pan with mixed herbs and a couple drops of salmon oil, a sprinkle of seaweed dust, and the calcivet supplement. Spoon into mushroom, cook mushroom in an oven for ten minutes, serve.
Obviously I'm leaving some human things out of that recipe - like butter, oil, and cheese, and salt and pepper.

So does one mushroom sound an okay size for two kittens? One large-ish regular mushroom? And does it sound good to your ratty sensibilities to serve it with a dandelion 'salad'?

Same question for quail eggs. Is one egg enough for one rat? Those things are very small, after all.

How often in a week should I be giving them protein rich treats like this?

I tend to end up around 12-15g per rat depending on extras. That said, if I only have kittens in a cage I usually free feed dry (although still ensuring it does all disappear in a day) for 2-3 weeks.

I use a mouse bottle for Dr S for pairs, and the hamster bottle for bigger groups. Depends on how I feel and how quickly a group tends to drink it though.

1 quail egg per rat is probably fine! In terms of how often to give protein meals, that probably is best to ask Lisa as it'll need to go down over time and she'll know her lines best!

In all honesty, mine only like dried out mushrooms but I imagine that size is fine. Not sure I'd put the calcivet in before baking though as I doubt the temperature would do it any good (pretty sure storage temperature on my bottle has a max of 25-30C)

I would add the calcivet to the water with the Dr squiggles rather than baking it into things.

It's great that you have gourmet feeding planned but don't overdo it - rats get fat very easily and this can lead to all sorts of health problems and shorten their lifespan.

For extra protein I would go with an egg between them, a sardine or a chicken wing a couple of times a week, and make sure they're getting fresh veg like carrots or green leafy veg a couple of times a week too.

NellyNoodle wrote:It's great that you have gourmet feeding planned but don't overdo it - rats get fat very easily and this can lead to all sorts of health problems and shorten their lifespan.

Yeah, that's why I'm being so cautious. I don't want to overfeed! Good note on the calcivet, I'll keep that in the bottle. Actually now that I think of that, I bought calcivet rather than dailyrat just because it was water soluble....forgetful me.